Dozens of submissions for posthumous VC medals

A Defence tribunal has received more than 50 submissions for World War I servicemen who have been overlooked for posthumous Victoria Cross medals.

It is expected to take at least a year for the Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal to consider the cases of 13 servicemen.

Two of the men under consideration are Tasmania's Leading Cook Francis Bassett Emms of Launceston and Ordinary Seaman Edward Sheean of Barrington.

Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Senator David Feeney says he expects the inquiry to take at least 12 months.

"In truth, the tribunal will take the time that it needs to get the job done properly, certainly after the passage of the best part of 60 years, I think all of us want to make sure that this task is undertaken forensically, thoroughly, professionally, and so I guess I put 12 months out there as a rough guide," he said.

Senator Feeney says he will soon release a schedule for public hearings.

"Our goal is to be as forensic as we can in terms of making sure that we've collected all of the evidence, all of the recollection, so that we can gain as complete a picture as we can about what these people accomplished and how it's appropriate to recognise those accomplishments," he said.